Variable-speed gear.



PATBNTED JAN. 1, 1907. J: -P. DAVIS.

VARIABLE SPEED GEAR. APPLICATION IILI ED AUG.23, 1906.

' from one of the coaxial gears.

UNITED STATES PATENT orrion. JOHN P. DAVlS, or o io do, i LiNo sVARIAB-LELSZPEEVD GE i 4 Specification of Letters Patent.

- Application filed August 23,1906. Serial lie- 831.735-

PatentedJan. 1, 1907.

To all whom it may OOTMZQTILQ Be it known that l, J OHN, P. DAVIS,acitizen of the UnitedSt'ates, residing at Chicago, in the county ofCook andState of Illinois, have invented a new and usefuldmprovement inVariable-Speed Gears, of which the following is a specification. l i

My invention relates to an improvement in the class of variable-speedgears in which the train consists of'a series of coaxial gears integralwitheach other or relatively immovable on one rotary shaft, as thedrive-shaft, these gears increasing in relative diameter from theircommon axis and a series of gears mounted on the other rotary shaft, asthe counter-shaft, and movable longitudinally thereof to engage eachwith and disengage it Theprimary obj ect of my, invention is to.

provide a novel construction ofvariable-i' speedgear inthe classreferred to which shall afford an-unusually wide range of speed varia,-tions and permits peculiar nicety of adjustment for any given speed. i 5

The construction whereby these objects are accoin lished is illustratedin thepaccompanying rawin by a broken lan. view, partly in elevation andpartly: n section, showing'a train of gears embodying my improvement.

On a rotary shaft 1, which is by preference thedrive-shaft, is mountedtorotate with it, preferably by fasteningit with afkey; 2 to ads tit tobe adjusted lengthwise of the she t-, a stepped cone3, forming about itscenter an inner beveled gear 3, an intermediatesimilar gearB and anouter similar gear 3. The steps of the conoinay be more or fewer thanthree to provide a greater or smaller number than represented of thecoaxial beveled gears in different planes. A

\set-scrow is shown at 2' for fastening the 2 stepped cone in any adusted position on the shaft 1'. A rotary shaft 4, which is thecounter-shaft in thearrangement shown, carries to rotate with it one ormore beveled gears, three sizes or diameters thereofbeingrepresented" tocorrespond in number with the gears of the stepped cone. The gears 6, 6,6 and 6 on the shaft 4 are movable'lengtliwise thereof, each beingequipped with a lever device of ordinary or any suitable constructionfor shifting it back and forth, The snialle tr is duplicated to form thesimilar connec beveled gears 6 and 6f for engaging with U1 3 atdiametrically opposite a direction. The gears 3 and 6 6 may bethree-to-one gears, as represented, to drive the shaft 4 at one-thirdthe speed of the shaft 1. The intermediate gear 3. drives the gear 6 atone to one-and-one-half speed, according' to the representation in thedrawing, and the gear 3 drives the gear 6 at one-to-one s eed.

My improvement, though not limited t mmroviding the gears on the latterof suitable ameters to engage the respective conegears in such-adjustedposition thereof, or by both so increasing the; umber of stepsv andmovingwthe stepped cone; As will be seen, the stepped form of multiplegears on the shaft 1 affords, because of each occupying wholly adifferent plane from the other or others, complete or unlimitedclearance for shifting the gears on the shaft 4 i elative to thecone-gears, whereby these movable gears may be adjusted successively inplace with the stepped cone secured or set in its operative position,and, as will also be appmr-v ent the stepped-cone form renders themultiple-gear formation more com act because of this extent of clearancethant econstruetion as heretofore, in which corresponding gears areprovided coaxiall Y all in the same or substantially the same p ane,requiring suflicient clearance for each counter-shaft gear within whichto more it relative to the companion gear on the di'ivc-shaf t.

As one means for shifting the ears shown on the shaft 4 the constructionsliown in the drawing and described as follows is suitable: A rock-shaft7, supported in suitable bearings to extend parallel with the shaft 4,is providedon one end with an operating lever or handle, (shown incross-section at 7*) by whichv to turn it, and it is surrounded atproper intervals by longitudinally-shiftablo iionerotatablc tubularheads 8 9 10, each provided near one end with a circumferential The head8 is mounted to more l l O groove 11. v longitudinally on a sleeve 12,surrounding points thereof to drive the shaft4 ineither shaft farthertowar or from the shaft 4 and and rotatably movable upon the shaft 7',and, i i

carries an operating lever or handle (show u in head 8 is a slot'8' ofapproximate S shape,

into which projects a stud 8", from the sleeve 12, and the heads 9 and10 contain the areshaped slots 9* and 10, respectively, curving inrelatively opposite directions and into which project studs 9 and 10*. Ashiftinglever 5, fulcrumed at one end and engaging at its opposite endthe groove 11 inthe head 8, is pivotally connectedbetween its ends withthe hub 13 common to the two gears 6 and 6, and similar levers 5 and 5engage, res ectively, attheir ends opposite those at W ich they arefulcrumedwith'the heads 9 and 10 at their contained grooves 11 and arepivotally connected, like the lever 5, with the hubs of the gears 6 and6. Thus by manipulating the handle 12 to turnthe sleeve 12 in onedirection or the other from the normal position-illustrated (in whichthe stud 8 is central in the slot 8) the stud in turning will actagainst the slot to move the head 8 longitudinally in the direction tomove the lever 5 on its fulcrum to shift one of the gears 6 or 6*" intoengagement with the gear 3, depending on the direction of turning thehandle 12 In the same way turning the handle 7 effects shifting incontrary directions of the'gears 6 I and 6 relative to theircompaniongears 3 and 3 by turning the rock-shaft 7 to cause the studs 9and 10 through their en agement with the slots 9" and 10 to moveongitudinally the heads 9 and :10 and move the levers 5 and 5. Which ofthe gears 6 6 is engaged with or disengaged from its com anion gear byturning the handle 7 depen s, as will be apparent, upon the direction ofturnmg.

able gears.

a ases As means forpreventing rotation of the 1011- gitudinally-movableheads 8, .9, and 10 each may be provided with an external longitudinalgroove, as indicated at 13, at which to be' engaged by a screw or stop,like that indicated at 14 as engaging the groove in the head '10, eachsaid sto being supported in a suitable bearing, as in icated at 15.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1.v A variable-speed gear comprising, in combination, a rotary shaft, astepped cone on said shaft with the steps forming "coaxial be veledgeais each occupying wholly a dinerent plane from the other or others, asecond rotary shaft, a plurality of beveled gears of varying diametersmounted on said lastnamed shaft to rotate with it and be movablelongitudinally thereof into and out or engagesteps forming coaxialbeveled gears each 00- I cupying wholly a differentplane from the otheror others,'a second rotary shaft, a plurality of beveled ears of varyingdiameters I mounted'on said est-named shaftto rotate with itand bemovable longitudinally thereof I v said cone, and means-for shiftingvs'iaid movinto and out'ofengagement withthegears of JOHN P.v DAVIS.-

In presence of- L. HE'ISLAR, J. H: LANDES'J

